And the hits just keep on coming

Steve Ryan

09/17/2002

Three days after a game, either the elation or the pain fades. You settle down, have put things into perspective and now, it's time to move on. Or is it? Three days after the debacle against Penn State, fans are still furious, columnists are going off and the only question about certain coaches having their heads on chopping blocks is who gets to swing the axe. You think this will be a period for calm? If NU loses to Iowa State in two weeks, you can call this time the "calm" before the storm.

In a state where the media is not usually overly critical of the Nebraska coaching staff, what we have seen in the last couple of days has been unsettling if not refreshing. Columnists from the Lincoln Journal Star and the Omaha World Herald inhaled their collective breathe and exhaled some of the more scathing commentary you are likely to read, as the NU coaches and even players got raked across the coals after NU was hapless in Happy Valley.

Tom Shatel, from the Omaha World herald stated, "The defense looked disorganized. The offense outdated. The Huskers looked undisciplined and uncoached." Shatel went on to single out Craig Bohl, stating that he "has never looked more overmatched."

It doesn't stop there.

Curt McKeever of the Lincoln Journal Star voiced his concern about the Huskers' D figuring out the hard, but losing focus of what should almost be natural to NU. "Maybe the Huskers have figured out how to defend the gimmicky, finesse offenses, but now they're having trouble handling the basics of smashmouth football."

John Mabry, again from the Star wrote about the defense, "NU's road defense appears to be asleep when it's awake"and he echoed a thought I am sure most of you are thinking right now. "You have to wonder what goes on during those "adjustment" sessions at halftime". What, indeed.

Tom Dienhart of the Sporting news states simply, that "Nebraska is a four- or five-loss team waiting to happen." He said the offense, the defense and pretty much everything outside of the waterboy could be to blame for this disaster. Dienhart even said that this year could be the year that NU not only launches programs like it did with Penn State, but their misfortune and inadequacies could be just what Iowa State and Texas A&M need to get into the limelight and the swooning Kansas State Wildcats to get back. NU's season-long demise is probably only seen as a bad thing to those that are fans of NU.

The dissension continues, the rants go on and the best and worst thing for the team is a week off before they play Iowa State.

The good, the coaches get a chance to figure out what happened, because as good as Mills is, Seneca Wallace is much better. If Mills could make the NU defense look lethargic and confused, Wallace could have a Tim Rattay-like day.

The bad, the articles will continue, the comments will only increase and the Husker fan-base will be waiting, wanting their chance to wield the axe. Most of them don't even care who's head it is, they just want someone to pay. Losing stinks and losing like NU lost to Penn State, well, that's aromatic to the point of nauseam, but when you are Nebraska, it won't be tolerated for long.

This weekend and even today, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have been called out by just about every sports loving journalist in the country for losing their edge, softening since Solich and being one of the most defensive, defenseless team in the country. If you wondered at how popular Nebraska was, you've now been given a pretty fair idea.